Try as she might, Lunise could not hold back showing deep pain from Meesei's self-judgement. She had never seen her so vulnerable. Thankfully, Lunise was still the one with the clearer head. She reached and picked up one of Meesei's hands, turning it palm up in her fingers in front of her and running small, slow circles on it with her thumbs.

"I do not agree that you deserve to disappear like that," Lunise said. "I feel I can say that with more qualification than most, if not all. You have driven yourself to the brink of death on a number of occasions for your cause. You have faced challenges that you knew well might have been beyond your capabilities, natural talents or no. It is unfair on yourself to claim practice and determination played no significant role in your achievements. To sacrifice as much as you have was a choice that none forced you to make, least of all the Hist."